"Brother Gongming sent a secret letter, saying that the birthday gifts must not be robbed." Inside Chao Gai's manor, Chao Gai gathered Liu Tang and the others together and spoke, his expression somewhat grave and hesitant.
"Why?" Liu Tang asked, puzzled. "Are we supposed to just watch the ducks that flew in fly away?"
“That’s right, the procession transporting the birthday gifts is about to arrive. We’ve been preparing for almost half a year. If we just decide not to rob them, wouldn’t all our efforts be wasted?” Ruan Xiaoqi said with dissatisfaction.
"King Chao, there must be a reason why Gongming sent this message. Did he explain it in the letter?" Wu Yong asked.
"The letter says that General Shenwei arrived in Yuncheng County today. General Shenwei is here on imperial orders to suppress bandits. If we rob the birthday tribute, General Shenwei will surely take action, and we will probably not escape death then," Chao Gai said, taking out the note that Song Jiang had hurriedly sent from his bosom.
"General Shenwei has arrived in Yuncheng." Upon hearing this, Gongsun Sheng's expression turned solemn. He gritted his teeth and said, "If General Shenwei is indeed in Yuncheng, then we have no choice but to give up."
Having witnessed some of Luo Zhenren's abilities while following his master, Gongsun Sheng was still quite wary of General Shenwei. If the rumors were true, General Shenwei was definitely not someone they could handle.
"What's there to be afraid of, General Shenwei! All that talk about subduing demons and monsters is just a rumor." Liu Tang said, "Brother Gongming is probably fooled by the rumors. I've never seen any demons or monsters in my life, and all the rumors I've heard are false. All those divine powers and magic are just tricks in the martial arts world. They might fool others, but they won't fool us."
"Then how do you explain those who claim to have seen monsters? And how do you explain the demon's corpse?" Gongsun Sheng asked again, still hesitant. Although he was one of the instigators of the robbery of the birthday gifts.
"The story of exorcising demons is just a rumor in the martial arts world," Ruan Xiaoqi said. "For some money, I can still make people spread the word that I can exorcise demons. I can even fake the corpses of demons by finding some meat, just like selling dog meat under the guise of mutton. It's just that his methods of forgery are so sophisticated that they are hard to tell the difference."
"What does Brother Chao Gai think?" Wu Yong asked, noticing that Chao Gai had remained silent and hesitant since revealing the news. In truth, Wu Yong himself was also hesitant. He didn't believe in any monsters, but rather in the power and influence of the Divine Might General. He could mobilize ten thousand troops anywhere at any time. Song Jiang's hasty dispatch of this message must have had another reason. Unfortunately, the note didn't mention it.
"The matter of the monsters is true." Hearing Wu Yong's question and seeing everyone else looking at him, Chao Gai hesitated for a moment before speaking. "We will not rob the birthday gifts."
"Brother Chao, how can you believe in these monster stories?" Upon hearing this, Liu Tang couldn't help but say, "These are all fake. They're just tricks."
“Yes, Brother Chao, it’s just a rumor,” Ruan Xiaoqi said.
"How can Brother Chao be so sure that the matter of the monster is true?" Wu Yong asked, preparing to refute.
“My men witnessed the monster incident firsthand. A living person instantly transformed into a monster the size of a house, with a head like a millstone. It could run, jump, shout, and scream, and could snap a tree as thick as a water bucket with a wave of its hand,” Chao Gai said. “Not only that, they also secretly bought a monster’s severed arm and sold it to me. I still have it hidden away. I don’t think any other arm could be like that. It definitely can’t be fake. I’ve kept it hidden for almost half a year now, and it still moves. This can’t be faked.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned; there really was a monster.
"Brother Chao, would it be convenient for you to take us to see the monster's arm?" Wu Yong said.
"Follow me." Upon hearing this, Chao Gai nodded and led the group toward his room.
Seeing this, the army quickly followed.
Upon entering the room, Chao Gai first asked Liu Tang to help him move his bed. Underneath the bed was an iron cover about the size of a door, secured with iron chains and seven or eight large locks.
"It can't be true!" Seeing how carefully it was locked, Liu Tang couldn't help but believe it.
Soon, Chao Gai brought the key. He opened all the locks one by one, then unlocked the chains and opened the iron cover.
Beneath the iron lid was a large, long iron box, with several iron chains wrapped around it.
"This is a specially made iron box, just in case the severed hand inside escapes," Chao Gai said, taking out the key to unlock each lock, unchaining the iron chains, and finally opening the lid of the iron box.
"What's this?"
"suck....!"
Gasps of astonishment filled the air as Chao Gai emerged, his eyes wide as he stared at the contents of the box.
Inside the box was a thick, bluish-gray severed arm, consisting only of the forearm and hand, remarkably human-like. It was tightly bound to the box by iron chains. The severed arm was as thick as a human waist, and although it was only the forearm, it was longer than a human thigh. The fingernails on the severed arm were a foot long, sharp and thick like a bear's claws. More importantly, the forearm was still struggling, its hand constantly clenching and unclenching, as if resisting and trying to escape.
"This is the arm of a monster that didn't quite die in the hands of General Shenwei. After General Shenwei left, those who saw it tried to chop it up when they found that there was still a monster struggling. However, swords and blades were useless against it, and they finally had to use a saw to cut it open. Two of my men were there at the time, and they took the opportunity to steal this arm and sell it to me for one hundred taels of silver before returning to their hometown," Chao Gai said.
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